AI Adoption Is Growing, but Legal Firms Are at Different Stages
At our latest Returners webinar, Emma Di Iorio, CEO and Co-Founder of Spriggun, gave a practical guide to legal tech and AI, and a clear message: the tools are changing fast, but the lawyer’s role matters more than ever.
AI adoption in legal is growing quickly, but how advanced that use actually is varies widely between organisations. 69% of lawyers now use generative AI for work, yet only 22% of law firms have a visible AI strategy, even though 41% are actively using AI tools. For consultants moving between placements, you may find one client team with AI fully embedded and another that has barely started.
The rise of the hybrid lawyer
Legal roles are becoming more fluid, with the boundaries between legal expertise, technology and business operations increasingly blurred. Legal engineers, legal operations specialists and legal project managers are becoming an important part of the modern legal landscape, helping organisations improve processes, implement technology and deliver legal services more efficiently. Lawyers are also increasingly expected to understand how technology works, how it can be applied to legal workflows and how it supports wider commercial objectives, alongside providing sound legal advice.
Emma’s view was that this combination of skills is becoming particularly valuable. The ability to bridge legal knowledge with technological understanding, project management and commercial awareness allows professionals to adapt to different client environments and add value beyond traditional legal work. This shift is reflected in a September 2026 report from the Thomson Reuters Institute, which found that the proportion of general counsel identifying technology as a top strategic priority had doubled between 2025 and 2026. As legal teams continue to prioritise technology and operational efficiency, professionals who can connect legal expertise with practical implementation are likely to be increasingly well positioned.
%
of professionals said AI met or exceeded expectations in organisations with a clear AI strategy
What it looks like in practice
Emma walked through reviewing an NDA. Previously, that meant digging out similar precedents from a shared drive, comparing clauses by hand and drafting a markup from scratch. Now, the NDA can be uploaded and checked against the organisation’s playbook, with AI flagging non-standard clauses, missing provisions and potential risks. The lawyer then reviews the output, applies commercial judgement and context, and owns the final advice.
The time savings on initial review can be significant, but there is a catch. If a tool flags every deviation rather than focusing on what actually matters, it can lead to over-redlining and create unnecessary work. Knowing what is worth pushing back on is still a lawyer’s call.
“Go slow to go fast”
AI is only as good as the data underneath it. If a contract repository is badly organised, adding an AI layer won’t necessarily improve things or deliver the expected return. Many teams are also running legacy and new processes side by side, so getting the foundations right matters more than switching on the latest tool.
Three questions to ask on day one of a placement
- What tech tools does the team use, and what are they connected to?
- Is there an AI policy, and what are the boundaries?
- What training or support is available for the tools?
The watch-outs
The main risks to keep in mind are hallucinations, outdated information, lack of context, confidentiality and privilege, data privacy, bias, IP and copyright, and transparency. AI outputs always need checking. Take particular care with confidential or personal information in public AI tools. Even with enterprise tools, it is worth understanding how data is stored and ring-fenced, and whether it is being used to train the model.
The takeaway
Emma’s closing message was “AI on tap, not AI on top.” AI can take on more of the initial and manual work, but you remain responsible for the advice. Human judgement, analysis and an understanding of the commercial context become more important, not less.
And for anyone feeling behind: no one is that far ahead. Even lawyers who have been in-seat throughout are still learning. Your legal skills are the foundation, and the tech is learnable.
About the Obelisk Returners’ Programme
The Obelisk Returners’ Programme supports lawyers returning to practice after a career break. Applications for 2027 will open on 1 October. If you’d like to support the programme through a webinar, mentoring or in another way, please get in touch.
About Spriggun
Spriggun is a founder-led RegTech firm combining senior regulatory expertise with practical delivery experience – across AI, data and cyber governance.
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